The distribution of advertising via computers is well established. For instance, advertising space on certain World Wide Web sites is sold much like advertising on television stations. Advertisers can buy advertisement space at a particular World Wide Web site, the rate set by the popularity of the site. This setup is similar in nature to advertisement space as sold in periodicals, radio or television. The more popular the underlying program or time slot, the more expensive the advertising rate. At World Wide Web sites, the space takes the form of either actual space on a given display page for a given site, where an advertiser may display various graphics or text relating to a product or service, or may be of the form of a hyperlink to another World Wide Web site which contains the advertisement information.
While advertising on the World Wide Web is known, there are problems unique to the Web for both the advertiser and the consumer. In the World Wide Web setting, advertisers are confronted with the difficult task of determining which sites are appropriate for their products or services. On the Web, advertisers aren't afforded the luxury of being able to pick a major network (like NBC or CBS) to place their ads. Accordingly, it is more difficult to reach a broad cross section of the population.
A second problem exists for advertisers and consumers alike relating to consumers who want information concerning particular products or services. One mechanism for advertising products or services is to create a World Wide Web site dedicated to an individual product or service. The "advertising site" can provide lots of helpful information to consumers and has the potential to boost sales. However, a custom Web site is only as effective as the ability of the advertiser to "advertise" the very existence of the site. This is because of the basic structure of the Web. While a user on the World Wide Web is certainly able to connect to any other site on the Web, the problem lies in knowing where to look. If a consumer doesn't know the exact address on the Web for the particular "advertising site", then it is often difficult if not impossible to find the site. So while an advertiser may have an informational page located somewhere on the Web, its effectiveness is minimized without an associated advertising campaign as to the existence of the very site.
Finally, from a consumer's perspective, one of the most disturbing aspects relating to advertising is the inability of the consumer to provide any control over the timing or the content of the advertisement information. Heretobefore, a consumer would log onto a site and was captive, subjected to the advertising whims of the site owner. Much like in a broadcast television setting, a consumer can switch channels (log off), but this is often a dissatisfying solution. While many consumers appreciate the advertisements, a system which allowed the consumer control over both the timing and the content would be well received.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide consumers with the ability to control the timing and content of advertisement information while logged onto the World Wide Web.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a user controllable advertising window for display advertising information or other user selectable information in conjunction with a browser application used to access sites on the World Wide Web.